Shaquille O'Neal Says WWE 'Messed It Up' with WrestleMania 33 Match vs. Big Show

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal laid the blame at WWE's doorstep for the failure to reach an agreement for his proposed match against Big Show at WrestleMania 33.

"They kept playing," O'Neal said of WWE on his podcast The Big Podcast with Shaq (via TMZ Sports). "First, they said it was me and Big Show. Then, they said it was going to be three-on-three. Then, they canceled it, so when they canceled it, I made other arrangements."

Shaq added that he rebuffed WWE's attempts to salvage the match, saying, "They messed it up."

The Big Show still competed at WrestleMania 33 on April 2—albeit in a much less noteworthy match. The former world champion was one of the combatants in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which Mojo Rawley won.

In March, The Big Show criticized O'Neal's lack of desire to get in shape and train for the potential match.

"It's on Shaq," he said, per ESPN.com's Matt Wilansky. "He has to figure things out in his own camp. Maybe he is just too scared to show up because he's too busy riding around singing karaoke with John Cena and going to Krispy Kreme and getting fatter every week."

Speaking with Bleacher Report's Dave Schilling, The Big Show said the comments were made largely in jest: "Yeah, I talked trash in the last couple weeks and teased him about abs, flabby Shaq and stuff like that. That's just good-natured pestering."

While a Shaq vs. Big Show match wouldn't have added a lot to WrestleMania 33 as a whole, it would've been a nice send-off for The World's Largest Athlete in what's likely to be his last WrestleMania.

The Big Show told Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso he plans to retire from in-ring action when his contract with WWE expires in February.

For more news, rumors and related stories about The Big Show and WWE, check out the WWE stream on Bleacher Report's app.